Committee Decisions

34 COM 7B.52

Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape (South Africa) (C 1099)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-10/34.COM/7B.Add,

2. Takes note of the detailed information provided by the State Party in the state of conservation report of the property;

3. Expresses concern at the granting of a mining licence for coal 5 km from the boundary of the property, in a highly sensitive area adjacent to the Limpopo river and in the proposed buffer zone that was submitted at the time of the inscription, and which is fundamentally linked to the protection of the Outstanding Universal Value of the property in terms of both cultural and natural attributes;

4. Calls upon the State Party to take appropriate measures to ensure that the Oustanding Universal Value for which the property is inscribed on the World Heritage List is not adversely affected by the proposed mining and further urges the State Party to ensure that these measures are in line with the recommendations of the Technical Workshop on World Heritage and Mining adopted at the 24th session of the World Heritage Committee that was held in Cairns, Australia in 2000;

5. Notes that sections of the property are subject to a land claim and requests the State Party to clarify what implications this might have for the management of the property as well as to clarify the exact delimitation of the buffer zone;

6. Also requests the State Party to invite a joint World Heritage Centre/Advisory Bodies reactive monitoring mission to consider the implications of the proposed mining on the Outstanding Universal Value of the property, and the establishment of an effective buffer zone for the property;

7. Urges the State Party to halt the mining project until the joint World Heritage Centre/Advisory Bodies mission has assessed the mining impact, and to submit as soon as possible details on the status of the mining licence, the status of the appeal, the position of the State Party and fuller details of ancillary projects;

8. Further requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre by 1 February 2011 an updated report on the state of conservation of the property including details of the status of the mining license for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 35th session in 2011.